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Traffic Solutions: Flyovers

Critics say it’s too ambitious for the government to think of constructing flyover roads in the busy streets of Jakarta, Indonesia. Despite the complaints though, the first drilling already began in 2010 which was supposedly finished in 2012 but due to unforeseen circumstances, the completion has been postponed overtime.

With one goal in mind, major companies like Axis Capital Group, a company which sells and rents capital equipment in Singapore and has been able to bring their business to Jakarta has teamed up with the government by lending their equipment for free.

The Flyover Roads project constitutes two viaducts above current roads: the Antasari - Blok M viaduct and the Kampung Melayu - Tanah Abang viaduct. With very limited space in Jakarta, vertical infrastructure is regarded to be the best solution to Jakarta's serious traffic problem.

As the traffic congestion situation has already reached alarmingly levels for many years and the government is seemingly reluctant to lower gasoline subsidies or invest in public transportation, these flyover roads - above current important artery roads - are regarded as the best solution. The project is funded by the Jakarta Local Budget (Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah, APBD).

Antasari - Blok M Flyover

The Antasari - Blok M flyover is located in South Jakarta, the third most populous among the five cities of the Jakarta Special District. The total length of this flyover will be 4.846 meters while its width will be 17.5 meters. Vertical distance from the existing road is around ten meters. The whole project will take one year and 7.5 months to be finished, followed by a maintenance period of 180 days.

Kampung Melayu - Tanah Abang Flyover

This flyover road will connect Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta. It will have a length of around 2.5 kilometers and combined costs of around USD $85 million. Similar to the Antasari - Blok M flyover, this road will have an altitude of ten meters above the existing road and is targeted to be completed in 2012.

Despite the best efforts and great intentions, critics continue to put out warnings to the public that the idea that building new roads will improve the “road ratio” (the number of vehicles compared to the total length of roads available) and thus reduce traffic congestion is a false assumption.

This is because if the government builds new roads or widens existing roads, we see an increase in the number of personal vehicles on them.